Better late than never could describe Dimensional Fund Advisors’ recent entrée into the ETF market.
The fund company’s first three ETFs have accumulated $700 million in assets since they launched in November and December, with almost half the growth occurring since Jan.1, 2021, according to Bloomberg News.
The three ETFs — Dimensional U.S. Core Equity Market ETF (DFAU), Dimensional International Markets Core ETF (DFAI) and Dimensional Emerging Core Equity Market ETF (DFAE) — have gained 5.7%, 4.5% and 10.4%, respectively, year-to-date. But only the U.S. Core Equity Market ETF, which has an expense ratio of 0.12%, outperformed its peers and benchmark index, according to Morningstar. DFAI charges 0.18% and DFAE 0.35%.
DFA has long been a favorite asset manager among financial advisors, distributing its mutual funds only to advisors, but it has been losing assets. Among the top 10 fund companies tracked by Morningstar, it experienced the largest outflows in 2020, losing $37 billion.